


I Want My Voice Back

by ConstellationBrotherhood



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Divergence, Following tags will be in the story but have not shown up in-universe yet, Gen, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Muteness, Psychological Trauma, Self-Sacrifice, Shapeshifting, Species Dysphoria, body transplant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24646327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstellationBrotherhood/pseuds/ConstellationBrotherhood
Summary: Once thought to be dead, a former Elite Guard member was brought into the Decepticon's ranks by Shockwave. His transformation abilities make him unlike any other opponent Team Prime has faced before, but the circumstances surrounding his apparent revival speak of even stranger matters. Will they be able to figure this strange mech out, or will he end up as another smoking corpse under a glowing blaster?
Relationships: Arcee & Jack Darby, Autobots & Bumblebee (Transformers), Breakdown & Knock Out
Comments: 9
Kudos: 20





	1. New Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello! So, I already started posting this in FFN, but I decided to start posting here as well. As such, I decided to post both Chapter 1 and 2 at the same time, to keep it at the same pace as the fic on FFN. Some things I want to mention before starting the chapter:
> 
> 1)/ Anytime Bumblebee speaks without Raf translating, it'll be in bold to separate it from other character's dialogue.
> 
> 2)/ Anytime Soundwave speaks, it will always be using recorded clips of other Cybertronians. The only reason I make it look like normal dialogue is because "I've-seen-people-do-this-and-it-is-so-troublesome-so-I'm-sparing-myself-the-trouble". The most I'll do is denote his dialogue with "Soundwave used several recorded clips patched together" and other variations of it. BUT, if there are reviewers who believe that the hyphenated version is better, I'll consider using it from Chapter 3 onwards.
> 
> With that said, here are Chapters 1 and 2. Enjoy!

"Hey, Jack! Get over here!"

A groan escaped his lips when he heard the familiar, excitable voice. Miko. It wasn't that he had anything against the girl, but after her latest excursion into the Autobot/Decepticon war zone — which he and Raf got dragged into again — he was a tiny bit less inclined to be anywhere near her at the moment.

But at the same time, he knew that she'd just pester him until he gave in, so... Reluctantly, Jack pulled himself away from the couch and began walking towards the girl, every step filling him with more dread than before. "What is it now, Miko?"

With his luck, it was probably something about the latest picture she snapped of the unfortunate 'con that had its face stepped on by Bulkhead. Or she wanted a bandmate to "rock out" with. Or maybe she wanted to challenge him to another round of "Prime Driver 3"... Jack perked up. Maybe that was what she was really after and it wouldn't be so bad—

"Here!" A guitar was shoved into his hands. _'Ah, never mind. Bandmate it is.'_ "Raf's busy, so I need you to stand in for him!"

He barely held in a groan. "Miko, have you, I dunno, thought that maybe I didn't want to talk to you just yet?"

The Asian girl didn't look a bit least deterred, although she did stop bouncing in place. "What? Why not?"

"Oh, maybe the fact that you _got us trapped in an alternate dimension with a zombie 'con_ has something to do with it?" The annoyance was showing this time.

Milo rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on! We got out of there alive, _and_ we totally blasted that 'con to smithereens with Starscream's own arm! How cool is that?!"

"We got out of there alive by the skin of our teeth! If Starscream's arm hadn't been there, then we would have been done for!"

"But it _was_ there, and—"

Whatever compelling argument Miko had for Jack was cut short by Ratchet's gruff call for Optimus Prime, and a sharp ping from the system. Both kids only shared a glance before rushing up the stairs to join Raf, who was watching the medic with worry. "Ratchet, what's going on?"

Ratchet only gave a non-committal grunt in reply. He didn't even glance up from the console until the whole team was gathered, by which he began speaking. "I'm receiving a signal on a restricted band."

All three humans shared a glance. "You mean, like with Wheeljack?" Miko asked, leaning over the rail.

"Yeah, is it from another Autobot?" Bulkhead added in, pushing his way forward. Nobody else said anything, but it was obvious from the silence that it was a question on everyone's minds.

"No." At this point, Ratchet looked away from the screen with a serious expression. "But neither is it from the Decepticons. It's coming from an escape pod, quickly approaching Earth."

Arcee raised an optic ridge. "So, neutral?"

"Hard to tell. It could be another Decepticon trick, or it could be an Autobot attempting to shield themselves from enemy gaze. There is only one way to find out," Ratchet said, and with that grim statement, he established a connection with the unknown bot.

Optimus Prime spoke up, his baritone voice carrying only the slightest tone of warning. "Unknown vessel, this is Autobot Outpost Omega One. Identify yourself."

The air nearly sparked with the heavy tension surrounding them. Everyone waited, unsure of whether to expect good or bad. Miko had to be held back before she toppled over the railing from leaning too far forward.

... But there was only static.

"I repeat, unknown vessel. This is Autobot Outpost Omega One, identify yourself." Despite the more forceful command, nothing was said.

"Well, that was a bust," Miko groaned when the connection was cut, swatting away Jack's hands as she pulled away from the railing. "He has to be a 'con. He's just not saying anything 'cause he's afraid he'd get his face pounded in!"

From the back of the group, Bumblebee whirred and clicked. Raf translated, "Bee said that might not be true. Remember the last time someone tried to contact us? Wheeljack got captured by the Decepticons."

Silence reigned until Jack snapped his fingers. "So this bot — whoever he is — might be worried that the Decepticons will find him before we do, and he's keeping himself on the down low because of it," Jack said. Bumblebee beeped in obvious approval.

"As of this moment, we do not know of the nature of the newcomer. There is only one way to find out, and that is to go to the location of the escape pod oursel—" A sudden alarm from the console cut the medic short, who let out a curse as he examined the screen. "Decepticons are on the move. Three of them, all heading towards the location. If we want to intercept that pod, it will have to be _now_."

Optimus nodded. "Bumblebee, you will stay with Ratchet and the humans. Bulkhead and Arcee, with me."

Bulkhead let out a whoop, while Arcee gave a curt nod. "Alright, let's get to it! Here's hoping that this one's someone we know, eh?" he said lightheartedly.

Arcee's face remained impassive as it was bathed in the green glow of the groundbridge. "Don't get your hopes up," was all she said as she jogged to catch up with Optimus. With a quick wave over his shoulder, Bulkhead did the same, and all three vanished into the groundbridge.

Once the groundbridge was shut off, Bumblebee whirred softly to Raf. "Oh, um, sure! Hey, guys," Raf said, catching both of their attention, "I'm going to borrow the TV if you don't mind. Bee and I are going to challenge each other to racing."

Jack waved him off. No sooner had the young boy left their side did Miko immediately pounce on him with a question. "What do you think the new guy's gonna be? My money's on a Bot!"

'At least it's an interesting question,' he thought inwardly. Out loud, he said, "Dunno. You heard them, it could be anyone. What if it's a 'con this time?"

His answer was rewarded with a punch to the arm. "Ow! Hey!"

"Don't be such a Captain Buzzkill!" Miko said good-naturedly, leaning back on the railing. Jack mumbled under his breath as he rubbed his arm. "It'd be cool if we had another Bot around. We could teach him so many things about Earth. We could get a new bandmate!"

"Well... I guess that'd be nice." Jack glanced back at the offline groundbridge. "Just hope that he's friendly..."

=0=

The Decepticons were already there by the time they reached the crashed escape pod.

All three Bots raised their weapons, each aimed at Soundwave, Knock Out, and Breakdown. "Step away from the pod," Optimus commanded.

Far from looking worried about being held at gunpoint, Knock Out waved off his words like they were a pest. "Now, now, no need to concern yourself with this one," he said with a smirk. Deft fingers tapped the side of the pod in rapid succession. "It's _our_ guest this time."

_ Their _ guest? Then that means...

The Autobots tensed as the lid of the escape pod slid open. One second passed, two seconds, then three, and a black hand shot out to grab the side. Then another, and a body slowly began to hoist itself out of the escape pod. A purple emblem was emblazoned proudly on its left arm.

Knock Out's smirk gradually morphed into a scowl. "Did your joints rust during your trip here? Hurry up!"

"Optimus," Arcee murmured, keeping her optics on the emerging body, "what do we do now?"

Seemingly giving up on waiting, Breakdown simply reached over and pulled the mech out of the pod himself. The mech didn't offer a thank you or a rebuke as he stood silently by the other three Decepticons.

Optimus didn't answer. His optics were solely fixated on the new 'con.

For the first time since arrival, a cobbled-together speech began playing from Soundwave. "Bring Shockwave's drone back to the ship. I do not want any delays!" Megatron's voice snarled.

Knock Out raised his arms in mock surrender, grinning at the Autobots. “You heard him. I can’t say it hasn’t been fun, but we have to take our leave now. Wouldn’t want to keep Lord Megatron waiting, would we?”

Soundwave must have agreed with the statement, for his next order was “Return to base.” using clips of recordings taken that day. The new mech was the first to react; in a flash, flight kibble that was not present before transformed into view, and it didn’t stop until he had completely transformed into a jet. All drawn weapons snapped at him, but they were too late; he was already hundreds of feet in the air by then. Without another word, Soundwave transformed himself and jetted off, taking after the receding sight of the blue jet.

Both him and Breakdown transformed, snapping the Autobots out of their simultaneous daze as they screeched out of the area. Bulkhead and Arcee made to follow them, but Optimus held out an arm. "No, there is no point now."

The tone in his voice — the underlying concern — gave them pause. Optimus tapped into his comm link. "Ratchet, bridge us back to base."

"Uh, Optimus? Are you okay?"

The Autobot leader spared them a glance. His battle mask was still up, but the look in his eyes was enough of an answer. It looked like he had see a ghost.

" _Optimus_ ," Arcee said forcefully, stepping up to Optimus' side as the groundbridge roared to life next to them. "Did you know that 'con?"

"I will explain later. Come."

Optimus made to enter the groundbridge, but after a pregnant pause, Optimus turned around to give the now empty escape pod, which the Decepticons had left behind, a contemplative look. "Do you think we'll need that?" Arcee asked, her optics still scrutinising her leader.

"... Yes. It may tell us more about the new Decepticon recruit. Bulkhead, help me lift this back to base."

Bulkhead had little choice but to do as he said, leaving Arcee to go ahead and inform Ratchet, but as they stepped through the groundbridge, both had to wonder: who was that 'con to garner such a reaction from Optimus Prime himself?


	2. Midnight

"Hey, Bulkhead! What happened out there? Did ya see the 'cons? Where's the new guy? Did they take him? Are you gonna rescue him now? And what's with the huge pod? And—"

Bulkhead was making desperate motions to quell the questions flooding out of Miko, all the while throwing panicked looks over his shoulder. Ratchet was already shooting a death glare at him; that couldn't be good. "Miko, not _now_! I'm being serious!"

"But why not?" Much to his dismay, the stubborn girl wasn't letting up in the slightest. "Bulk, you can't just hold out on me like that!"

"I'm _not_ , I-"

"Miko, stop it!" Much to his internal relief, Jack came from behind and dragged her away, cutting her short. "No need to bug it out of him right now, I'm sure they'll tell us soon."

Jack hesitated - nearly letting Miko slip from his grasp - as he turned to Bulkhead. "Right?"

"Of course!" Bulkhead barely got his reassurances out before Optimus called for everyone's attention. "See? The boss is going to explain everything now," he said with no small amount of relief in his voice.

"Yeah, so will you pipe _down_ , Miko?"

"Ugh, _fine_!" Miko finally stopped her questions, wriggling out of Jack's grasp and stomping over to the couch.

Jack huffed. That girl could be as stubborn as a bull whenever she wanted to be... But if he was being completely honest with himself, he was also itching to ask the returned bots questions. It must have been on everyone's minds, right? The way Arcee hurried to tell Ratchet to hold the groundbridge open, followed by Optimus and Bulkhead lugging back a Cybertronian-sized pod, was already concerning, and the fact that apparently only Optimus knew anything made it far worse (with Miko as evidence). For the next ten minutes that Optimus and Ratchet took to examine the pod while the rest of them waited in (mostly) silence, it was an eternity peppered with one vessel of inappropriate gusto that was brought to a merciful end when Optimus turned to address everyone else.

"I apologise for the wait, everyone; I had to rule out a few possibilities regarding the new Decepticon."

Miko's shoulders slumped. "Aw man, so the new bot's a ' _con_?"

"So much for that band mate," Jack muttered.

"Indeed. I suspected Dark Energon might have been at play here," Nearly everyone gaped at that statement. Even Bulkhead and Arcee, who were with him at the time, were taken aback, "but there were no traces to be found within the escape pod that Ratchet could detect."

**"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down a klik!"** Bumblebee piped up, holding up a finger. **"Dark Energon? Where did that come from? Did Starscream try to revive more dead Decepticons?"**

"That was what I had initially suspected," Optimus admitted, "but it does not seem to be the case this time."

Silence.

Then a sudden slam echoed throughout the base, and Ratchet stood back up from where he was kneeling next to the pod. "I didn't detect any abnormalities in this escape pod, nor outside it. For all intents and purposes, it's just a normal escape pod. And Optimus?" The medic fixed a scowl at the Autobot leader. "Stop with the cryptic lines and get to the fragging point, before I do it myself."

Optimus nodded firmly, then turned to the others. "Do any of you know of a mech named Midnight?"

Silence reigned once again, but this time, it was more thoughtful than stunned. "Doesn't ring a bell to me," Arcee said eventually.

**"Ditto."**

"Me too," Bulkhead said apologetically. "Should we?"

Optimus shook his head. "It is not unexpected that you did not hear of him. Midnight was a former Elite Guard, but before the war broke out, he was put on trial for treachery and was executed as a result. Afterwards, records of him were destroyed or filed away from the public eye. I suspect that the Council did not want that incident to mar their reputation."

"Executed?" Oh right, the human children were still present. Rafael was the one who had spoken, his eyes widened with fear. Jack appeared more concerned than frightened, while Miko was already off the couch and against the railing with a look of fascination. "You mean... he was killed?"

"What happened?" Miko asked with an unmistakable tone of awe.

A pinch of regret hit Optimus for not thinking to shield the children's ears, but it was too late now. "That is right, Rafael. For a short time before it was successfully dealt with, many mechs and femmes had dirtied their servos in the business of illegal trafficking of natives from other planets."

Arcee seemed to perk up with a look of recognition. "And there were rumours of some Elite Guard members protecting them, weren't there?"

"I am afraid that they were much more than mere rumours, Arcee." It was brief, but there was a flash of emotion that flitted across Optimus' expression, gone as quickly as it had came. It was no secret that the memory was as unpleasant for him as it was for everyone else.

The face of every Autobot sans Ratchet reflected that very same regret, as well as disdain None of them wanted to remember that time. But they had to- If they refused to reflect on the past mistakes of Cybertronians, then history would simply repeat itself. After all, was it not why they were fighting for this planet?

"Feh! _I_ remember that mech," the medic scoffed, breaking the solemn silence. Optimus graciously stepped out of the way as Ratchet came forward. "I don't know how that brat became part of the Elite Guard, but he was far too cocky for his own good. All because he had this _ridiculous_ notion that he was Primus' gift to Cybertronians; I knew he was trouble the moment he barged into my repair bay, but never in a millennia did I—"

"Wait a minute, Doc Bot." Bulkhead turned to Optimus. "So, you're saying that this bot is _dead_. As in, spark completely snuffed out?"

"Yes. His execution was quite publicized."

Bulkhead's expression grew a bit ill. "But Optimus, that's not possible. We saw that mech, and he looked like a completely... Well, _normal_ bot!" He whirled around on Arcee. "Arcee, back me up here."

Arcee, despite looking unfazed, took a few seconds to answer. "Bulkhead's right. I..." She let out a slow vent. "I know what a Cybertronian powered by Dark Energon looks like, and that 'con is about as far from it as possible."

Bulkhead suddenly looked sorry that he brought the topic up, but she plowed on regardless. "Optimus, isn't it possible that the similarity is just a coincidence? They even called it 'Shockwave's drone'. They probably just modeled it after a random bot they found in a scrap heap."

"Yeah, that's right!" the Wrecker said, jumping in on the opening. "Besides, why would the 'cons waste their time bringing back _one_ dead bot just to add to their cause?"

Far from being persuaded by this line of argument, Optimus' face grew grimmer. "If this Decepticon recruit is truly the mech I think he is, or even has a semblance of his transformation abilities, the Decepticons may have just gained a massive advantage over us."

His words settled like an invisible weight over everyone. "Wh-what?" Bulkhead glanced at everyone else, but only Ratchet seemed to have any idea about what Optimus was talking about. "What's _that_ supposed to mean? Optimus?"

Silence, then a mighty sigh. "Do you recall...?"

=0=

"Makeshift?"

"Mmhmm." The surrounding area was thankfully free of any human presence, allowing Knock Out to fill Breakdown in as they raced along the road. There had been no signs of any Autobots on their tailpipes for several minutes, but they weren't about to take any chances. "Capable of taking another Cybertronian's form with a simple scan, the only downside being that he doesn't have a vehicular alt-mode to call his own. Not to mention that he's not exactly too pleasing to the optic."

"Erm."

"You have a different opinion, Breakdown?" Knock Out asked in a sing-song voice.

"No, no, it's not that," Breakdown said hastily. "It's just, didn't that Makeshift guy get found out by the Autobots a while ago? And got scrapped by them?"

"So?"

Breakdown would have frowned had he not been in vehicle mode at the moment. "They'll be expecting the same trick, won't they?" he pressed.

"Maybe."

The frown turned into a scowl. Was he being toyed with? It sounded like he was being toyed with. "Then won't the same thing happen again?"

"That's what you would think, isn't it?"

Definitely being toyed with. "Knock Out!" Breakdown growled, revving forward a short distance.

The red sports car gave a mirthful chuckle as he swerved to avoid the armoured truck. "Alright, alright. If you wanted to know so badly, you should've just asked nicely."

A stony silence was his response.

Knock Out continued on, unfazed. "Anyway, this one's special because—"

As if on cue, a voice came through the comm link system, cutting Knock Out off. "Bridging you back now," came the sound of Soundwave's patched-together recording, followed by the whirring of a groundbridge just a short distance away from them.

"Special _because_?" Breakdown practically growled, now driving so closely to Knock Out that they were nearly touching bumpers. Like Pit he was going to let Knock Out get away with this.

"Special because of reasons Big M will deem worthy enough to share." Knock Out sped off into the swirling vortex, cackling all the while and leaving the stunned mech behind.

"What th— wait!"

=0=

On the other side of the groundbridge, both mechs emerged, screeching to a halt as they transformed back into root mode. Knock Out seemed unusually pleased for someone who hadn't done much during the retrieval, while Breakdown was balancing that out with a heavy scowl. "Ah, if only all of our missions could go as smoothly," Knock Out sighed as he meticulously swept off dust visible only to him. "Where is our guest? I'd hate to miss the housewarming."

Both Soundwave and Starscream were standing before Megatron, with the recruit in between them. The former had a tentacle plugged into a port on the back of the recruit's neck, a slew of coding whizzing past on the screen he called his face. "Right here, although calling it a guest is a... _stretch_." Starscream gestured vaguely at the still mech, a look of disdain clear even under the dim lighting of the _Nemesis_.

Megatron had barely acknowledged their arrival, his focus instead solely on his TIC. "Soundwave, what is your report?"

"Soldier is undamaged. Carries a message from Shockwave."

His next command was immediate. "Play it."

Giving a single, curt nod, another tentacle snaked around those present and plugged itself into a console. Static filled the screen for a brief second, before Shockwave's singular optic appeared. Behind him was a medical berth with the soldier lying atop of it, as motionless as it was now. Several tubes were spilling out of its chest, and its optics were offline. "If you are listening to this message, then the soldier I sent must have reached its destination safely."

Shockwave shifted to the left, giving the recording a better view of the soldier. "One of my drones discovered it protecting several Iacon civilians during a routine patrol. I normally wouldn't have wasted resources salvaging it, but when I realised its true nature, it was only logical to assume that it would be a useful asset to the Decepticon cause."

He crossed over to the berth, tilting it upwards to allow the camera a full view of the mech. The new lighting angle gave the body a new sheen; Shockwave must have given it a new paint job, Knock Out realised. _'Really? That shade of blue, of all colours?'_

"Its spark chamber possessed trace amounts of energy but held no spark, and yet, it acted as a normal Cybertronian would. It attempted to defend the civilians, and displayed unique transformation abilities while doing so. While I believe that there is a Decepticon saboteur by the designation of Makeshift who possesses similar abilities—"

Starscream muttered something under his breath.

"—the differences lie within the full extent of their transformation abilities. This one is capable of perfectly replicating the structure of another Cybertronian, down to their spark signature. As long as its spark isn't extinguished while it is transformed, it can retain the form indefinitely."

Knock Out let out a low whistle. "Well, well, well. Wouldn't that come in handy? I've been looking for another pair of servos to help me out in the repair bay," he murmured, now staring at the soldier with a hungry look in his optics.

" _Knock Out_ ," Breakdown hissed.

He only offered a shrug to the admonishing tone, now smirking widely.

"Once its reprogramming is complete, it will be fully capable of carrying out your every order, Lord Megatron, as well as any orders commanders, may give it. It will also follow any given directive on the battlefield, but its battle systems should allow enough freedom to act appropriately during the heat of battle." There was a pause as his optic dimmed momentarily. "Should two conflicting orders be issued to it, the one issued by someone in a higher position of command will be given priority. That should prevent any potential conflicts."

Knock Out could have sworn he saw a tremor in Starscream's wings at that statement. And was that the faintest of smirks on Megatron's face? _'Oh, this is going to be_ entertaining _to watch. As long as I keep myself out of the crossfire, that is.'_

Breakdown didn't seem to share his sentiment, judging from his frown. Meh, his loss.

"I do have to note that there were a few... quirks that I was not able to rectify. Thankfully, I have installed a recording device as a precaution, so it should not pose as a problem. Just bear in mind that these abilities require a significant amount of energy to sustain, so—" A muted shuffle broke the scientist out of his monotonous explanation. Behind him, the soldier's optics began to flicker. A finger twitched. "—keeping its tanks full at all times would be the best course of action, lest it falls into stasis in the middle of battle. My apologies, Lord Megatron; it appears that the programming has yet to kick in. I will have to amend this."

The recording ended. The screen went dim as Soundwave retracted his tentacles.

"Lord Megatron, you _can't_ be serious about this. This thing, a useful asset to our cause?" Of course, it was Starscream who had offered the derisive remark. Knock Out was swift enough to disguise his snicker with a cough, taking a step backwards just in case. "Look at it!"

Talons roughly grabbed the soldier's chin and jerked it up and down, to the point of lifting it to the tips of its pedes. It displayed no reaction whatsoever. "It's nothing more than a sparkless drone! At least Makeshift had _some_ semblance of competence and wits before his untimely demise, something this clearly doesn't possess."

"Oh _really_?" One stride forward, and another, another, forcing Starscream to release the soldier as he hastily backed away from the approaching Megatron. "And _who_ was it that squandered 'Makeshift's competence'? _Who_ was responsible for his 'untimely death', as you had put it? Care to tell me, my dear Starscream?" Megatron said, bared dental plates mere inches away from Starscream's face.

"Erm..."

Starscream turned his head away, visage twisted into a discomforted grimace.

" _Well?_ "

"... It was I, M-Master," he stammered, wings tipping down as he bowed his head. The elongated shadow of Megatron looming over him simply made the Seeker's pair of wide, pleading optics all the more conspicuous.

"That's right," Megatron growled, pulling away from the cowering seeker. "I don't expect you to be capable of judging the potential of others, Starscream. We will simply have it go against the Autobots and see for ourselves if it is truly capable of holding its own ground then."

" _And_ , if I catch anyone using it for their own _personal_ agendas..." Knock Out stiffened when he felt the burn of Megatron's glare on his own helm. "I will be sure that they find themselves reconfigured to be its new training drone. Do I make myself _clear_?"

"Yes, Lord Megatron," came the dutiful responses, some more disgruntled than others.

"Good. Knock Out!"

"Yes, my liege?"

Megatron waved dismissively at the still soldier. "Take this to the repair bay and run some diagnostic tests on it. Make sure it is running at full capacity before we send it out to the energon mines."

"Will do." Knock Out barely got the words out before Megatron turned abruptly and left the command room, Starscream trailing behind him while muttering weak protests. The sounds of a pounding would surely fill the warship later that day.

Oh well, that didn't matter. Knock Out crossed over to the soldier, optics roving over its form while he mentally picked out every aspect of it. _'Bland paint job, and no vehicle alt mode. Honestly...'_

"What are we supposed to call it?"

He raised an optic ridge at Breakdown, who was bending lower to squint at the mech's face for some bizarre reason. "Does it matter?"

"I thought it might. I don't want to have to get it confused in the middle of battle," Breakdown explained, waving his hand over its optics. No reaction.

"Oh. Hm, good point." _'I didn't expect that out of Breakdown_ _of all bots.'_ "Soundwave?"

In response, several files containing information on the soldier were sent to his database almost instantly. He only paid attention to one of them. "'Midnight', hm? Alright then. Midnight, follow me. Let's get this over with quickly," Knock Out said in a bored tone, curling his hand forward in a "come here" gesture.

The sight of the soldier falling right behind him without question was at least a bit gratifying, even though it was too close to him for comfort. A quick snap was enough to get it to fall back by a few steps.

"So how long do you think it can last against the Autobots?" Breakdown asked the moment they left Soundwave and the command centre, en route to the repair bay.

Knock Out gave the soldier another cursory glance. It still didn't look any more impressive than first impressions had told him. Still, he gave a low chuckle as he turned back around.

"Who knows? At the very least, if that Shockwave is to be believed, it'll do its best to keep those Autobot ruffians from scuffing my paint job again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for this week! So, how were the first two chapters? Were they alright? Too OOC? Please let me know in a comment what you thought of it. Either way, I'll be back next week with a new chapter, so until then! =)


	3. Spark of A Mech

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is a spark? What's Breakdown's problem with Midnight? Do human children care about Memorial Day at all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello, hello! I’m back with another chapter with questions everyone is clearly aching to know the answers to.
> 
> On another note, I may be changing my update schedule, partly due to issues in real life and partly because I plan to start another story at the same time. So while there’ll be a much wider space between updates for this story, updates may also be delayed until 29th of June as of this chapter.
> 
> Now with that over with, I want to thank my two beta readers: dropout-ninja and Crystine Decepticon on FFN! Please go check them out if you’re a fan of Decepticon-centric Transformers fic, their stories are severely underrated. I really appreciate their input on this chapter, and they were responsible for it not coming out incoherent. If you guys are seeing this, thank you so much!
> 
> And to the comments on Chapters 1 and 2, thanks to you too! I love that you guys are enjoying the story and the characters, and I cannot wait until I finally get to the one character I’ve been aching to expand on for so long.

=0=

“Get up on the berth,” Knock Out ordered.

Midnight did as he was told, climbing onto and sitting straight-backed on the repair berth

“... Now lay _on_ the berth.”

Again, Midnight obeyed. Knock Out only allowed himself a brief vent before he was on him in a flash, opening up his chassis and plugging in cords that extended from the equipment stocked in the repair bay, all covered in strings of coding and equations that Breakdown could never hope to understand. The annoyed frown Knock Out was sporting had evaporated into thin air, digits poking and prodding every inch of the mech they could find. The only times Knock Out looked away from his work was to add his own observations on Midnight to the holoscreen behind him

Standing at the screens with an uneasy look in his optics was Breakdown. Normally, he’d find a way to lend a servo before leaving to go tend to the Vehicons, but this time, he was doing all he could even remain in the repair bay. And it was all because of the still body laying on the berth—

“Breakdown,” Knock Out suddenly said, disrupting his train of thought, “show him where to go refuel once I’m done with him, will you?”

He blinked. “What? Why me?”

“You're the Vehicons' appointed handler, aren't you? One more won’t make a difference.”

“He’s not—” Breakdown stopped himself, then vented. "I mean, sure, Doc."

"Wonderful," Knock Out said, optics already returning to his work. 

Once he was sure the Doc wasn’t looking, Breakdown grimaced. Midnight being lumped together with the Vehicons sounded like a bad joke to him, yet vorns spent with Knock Out told him that the medic was dead serious. But couldn’t he see that the Vehicons and the new recruit were worlds apart? 

The essence of a spark has been the subject of may theories and legends, but Breakdown didn't have to be a philosopher to know that one needed a spark to be able to _feel_. A spark lets Cybertronians create memories, relationships, and even family units. It made a Cybertronian a _Cybertronian_. Without a spark, it was just an empty metal shell. 

The others may call the Vehicons “drones”, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Each of them had a voice and a sense of purpose. Breakdown would know; he spent many shifts chatting with them when Megatron or Starscream weren’t looking. On occasion, the things they say could even surprise a laugh out of him, something only Knock Out had managed to accomplish. It was only unfortunate that they had to depend on their serial numbers and not their appearances to be able to be told apart, but that was what happened when a warlord required an army at a moment’s notice: some corners had to be cut. 

Midnight, on the other hand, was a piece of machinery through and through. There was no life in those red optics, he never moved unless told to, and on top of it all, he never reacted. No happiness, no anger; everything was met with a blank stare. Shockwave claimed that this thing was once a normal Cybertronian like Breakdown and Knock Out, but the fragging thing had about as much personality as any of the medical equipment in the repair bay. And Knock Out still thought Midnight was like the Vehicons?

But that wasn't the biggest issue. No, if Midnight turned out to actually be _good_ at his job, Breakdown had a feeling that the Decepticons could expect to see more sparkless soldiers in this ship in the near future, and the thought sent a chill through his own spark.

The more he thought about it, the more he could feel a processor ache build up. _‘Primus, this is a mess...’_

“Huh.”

That was Knock Out. But the tone was so far removed from his usual arrogance that it made Breakdown turn around. The sight of the medic bent over the patient, fiddling with his throat, set alarm bells off in his head.

"Knock Out? Knock Out, what are you doing?" Breakdown asked, crossing over while keeping a wary optic on Midnight. "If you're trying to alter his vocaliser to make him sound like you--"

"As much as that sounds like a grand idea," Knock Out interrupted, waving away his accusations, "I can't exactly do that if the mech in question doesn't even _have_ a vocaliser."

Breakdown blinked. Well, that was news to him.

"I suppose this is one of the 'quirks' Shockwave was talking about, although why he couldn't just _install_ one is beyond me." Detaching the last cord, Knock Out finally shut his chassis.

"He’s functioning alright, right?" Breakdown pressed, practically hovering over the medic’s shoulder. “We don’t know how much time Megatron will be willing to give us, so the sooner it’s done, the better.”

“Relax, _mon ami_! There were a few, ah, oddities I discovered in his systems, but nothing that will impede him. Here, I’ll put on a little demonstration for you. Midnight!” Knock Out barked. “Get off of there.”

He neatly hopped off the berth, causing Breakdown to nearly break a console jumping away from Midnight himself. 

“Go fetch me a scanner.” Midnight made a round around the repair bay and returned with scanner in hand. “Hand it over to me.” Midnight did so, and Knock Out turned to shoot Breakdown a flat look. “It’s a tad tedious to give him instructions for every little thing, but at least he doesn’t wear out his vocaliser complaining about it, unlike _some_ people I know.”

“R-right...” 

An awkward silence passed, and Knock Out narrowed his optics. “Breakdown, what has gotten into you? You‘ve been quieter than usual ever since we returned, you nearly gave more work for the repair crew and you didn’t even help clean up the repair bay.”

Breakdown let out a quiet groan. That was the first thing he’d do upon setting foot into the repair bay, but their newest recruit had chased all of that out of his memory.

“If this is about the comment I made, really, there’s nothing to get so huffy about. It was just a joke; I know you wouldn’t lower yourself to a mech like this,” Knock Out continued, gesturing at Midnight like it was obvious why. It _was_ , but not for the reasons Knock Out was evidently thinking of.

Breakdown wasn’t sure if it was because of him and Midnight being part of the same joke, or because Midnight wasn’t reacting at all to said joke that drove him to finally speak his thoughts out loud. “Knock Out, don’t you find him _odd_?” Breakdown blurted out.

“... Odd,” Knock Out repeated flatly. He leaned to the side to give Midnight’s chassis three sharp raps, creating hollow “thunks”. “Oh really. I didn’t notice, what with the empty spark chamber, but thank you for letting me know, Breakdown.”

“That’s not what I meant, Doc!” he insisted. Grabbing Midnight’s face, he rattled it back and forth like Starscream had done not too long ago. The way Midnight went with the motions made his tanks roil. “You see this, right? There’s nothing here at all!”

Knock Out simply raised an optic ridge. “So?”

“ _So?_ So it’s unnatural! It’s creepy! It’s... _wrong,_ ” he hissed.

“Wrong? Breakdown, if this is what’s wrong to you, then I rather it not be right. Besides,” he continued as he walked around Breakdown to get a clean rag to wipe off the grease streaks on his servos, “you have to deal with the Vehicon workers nearly every cycle. What’s the difference with this one?”

The comparison made Breakdown yet again acutely aware of the unmoving mech behind him, and he clenched his servos. “Quit putting the two together, will you?! I know you don’t talk to the Vehicons, but even you must have noticed; the workers at least have two processing chips to rub against each other, and this one—“ To make his point, Breakdown whirled around and backhanded Midnight in a way that would have done Megatron proud.

Midnight was sent flying across the room and startling a cry out of Knock Out, cleaning rag falling out of his servos. It was only thanks to luck that none of the medical equipment were broken in the process as Midnight crashed against a wall. Breakdown shot the medic a pointed look. “You're seeing that, right? He doesn’t even do anything!”

Rather than an expression of dawning realisation like he had expected, an indignant scowl overtook Knock Out's features. “Breakdown! You _do_ realise that I’m still charged with his medical care, right?!” he demanded, glaring at the bulky mech. “Just because he’s built to take hits doesn’t mean you can toss him around like a training drone!”

“Why do you care? _He_ doesn’t,” Breakdown noted with a hint of bitterness as Midnight slowly picked himself up.

For a brief moment, Knock Out looked truly stunned, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then his optics narrowed into slits. “So, let me see if I got this correct. Midnight and his lack of a spark scares you, so you decided the best course of action was to give _me_ more work?”

Breakdown opened his mouth to deny it, but he caught sight of Midnight standing like a statue right behind Knock Out, effectively shutting him up again.

This did not go unnoticed, and Knock Out muttered something under his breath as he pressed a digit against the space between his optics (a human gesture, Breakdown noticed). “Alright, it looks like you are in dire need of a quick ice breaker with Midnight here.”

Before Breakdown could protest, he found himself being steered by the elbow towards the holoscreen filled with Knock Out’s notes. “Look at this,” he ordered — _ordered_ — with an almost professional tone.

“... Fine.” Reluctantly, Breakdown read through his (slightly sloppier, although he wouldn’t admit it out loud) notes. The first few weren’t all that interesting; it was just remarks on Midnight’s more unorthodox parts like specially crafted stabilizers in his legs and a programming designed to suppress or outright block his personality, then it delved into even stranger territory like his lack of a vocaliser, and the traces of spark energy left over in his spark chamber...

Breakdown stuttered to a halt. There were _traces of spark energy_? Then that meant this was more than a sparkless soldier; this used to be a living mech now brought back to life! But it was a common belief that extinguished sparks went to the Allspark; if a mech was killed and brought back without a spark, then did that mean that the mech was stuck in an eternal limbo? 

Primus, what if Megatron wanted _more_ soldiers like Midnight? What if they were next?! His servo impulsively flew to cover the spot where his spark chamber would be. 

A servo jerked his head downwards, cutting through his spiraling thoughts. “Not that one, you bolthead. _This_.”

Trying to push aside the frightening thoughts for now, Breakdown forced himself to look at the indicated line. It did nothing to alleviate his apprehension; if anything, it just added confusion on top of it. "Are these schematics of Autobots? Why are you showing me this?"

Knock Out held up a digit. “Aha. That’s the thing. They’re not just schematics of Autobots; they’re _his_ schematics of Autobots.”

It took him a few glances between the holoscreen and Midnight before it finally registered. “... Oh.”

“Exactly.”

“ _Multiple_ alt modes? But how is this possible?” Breakdown asked in a hushed voice, his previous worry about Midnight partially replaced with curiosity. A blue and white mech with yellow optics, a red and lean mech, on and on it went. Breakdown estimated about ten Cybertronians at the very least, all of them Autobots.

"I have my theories. Maybe a wayward scientist wanted a Triple-Changer and went overboard, or maybe he just turned out to be a product of a glitch when he came out of the Allspark's Well." Knock Out shrugged. "Nobody gives a scrap how it happened, only about what it _is_. And what it _is_ is an indestructible 'meat shield' Shockwave was so generous to share with us."

Breakdown pursed his mouth. He very well knew what it was, but it didn’t change the fact the same thing could be done to _them_.

"Which neither of us are," Knock Out continued, which made Breakdown turn an incredulous look towards him. Was he really that transparent with his feelings?

The stare was met with a raised optic ridge. "You're much too easy to read. I know you're no scientist, but at least think about it for a moment: what qualities does Midnight have that you don't?"

First the confusion came. Then understanding at what Knock Out’s implications were. Then indignation at said implications, as his face twisted into a scowl.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. I meant that he was already dead when he was reprogrammed!" Knock Out snorted. Breakdown scowl lightened, but he still didn’t like the fact that he was apparently such an open book.

Rolling his optics at Breakdown's sullen look, Knock Out reached up to give the bigger mech a brief pat on the arm. "No need to get all huffy about it, you're still a useful part to the Decepticon cause and all that. No one's going to be scrapping you any time soon."

Offhanded tone aside, Knock Out's words seemed to resonate with something within him, and Breakdown finally relaxed. "Yeah... Yeah, thanks for the talk."

"Yes, yes, you can thank me _after_ I check him for any damage he might have sustained from your little tantrum." The medic's tone had immediately regained its snappiness as he ordered Midnight back to the berth. " _You_ can explain the delay to Lord Megatron."

Knock Out's order left no room for argument, but that didn't stop Breakdown from flinching when his comm-link system came to life with Megatron's voice on the other side. "Breakdown, I require the newcomer in the command room now. Soundwave will be briefing both you and him on the next mining expedition.”

The calm voice (for Megatron) only served to intensify the jitters that suddenly claimed his spark. Breakdown sucked in a breath; a human gesture that he never would’ve done in any other circumstances. “About that, Lord Megatron...”

=0=

It was quiet in the Autobot’s base that day. That in itself was already unusual enough, given the characters that lived within it, but the reason for it was even more concerning.

The human children were quiet because the tension amongst the Autobots were palpable. The Autobots were silent because of various reasons, but one stood out above the rest: they were completely in the dark regarding the Decepticon’s plans. 

The Decepticons were many things, but fools they were not. They wouldn’t dare pull the exact same trick that had already failed once. Was there something that they were hiding? Was that something the same thing that revived a mech Optimus Prime was certain was dead? 

Speaking of which, _that_ incident opened up a whole new can of worms. How did the Decepticons bring a Cybertronian back to life without Dark Energon? Did they somehow manage to conceive a method that would grant them an army of sparkless soldiers? That thought was an unnerving notion, and it was one nobody had dared say out loud. They didn’t have any answers to all of the mysteries anyway, so all they could do was wait for the Decepticons to make the first move.

And make the first move they did, when Ratchet alerted the rest. "Optimus! I'm detecting several life signals."

The three human children immediately perked up at the news as all present Autobots gathered around Ratchet. Ever since the ominous tale of this Midnight guy, the human trio had done nothing but distract themselves with mundane conversations, in an effort to chase away the haze of uneasiness that had settled on them. Raf suggested car racing, while Jack offered to invite the other two for dinner at his place, since his mom was apparently getting off work early. Miko's exclamation of "Bulk trashed that face-stealing 'con once, he can pound this one to the ground too!" was predictable, but met with a grin from Bulkhead nevertheless.

However, all those false comforts vanished in the face of news of Decepticon movement. **"An energon mine?"** Bumblebee beeped.

"Most likely." Ratchet surveyed the group before him. Arcee was still out on patrol at the moment, leaving Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Optimus Prime to be the only ones to take on this mission. “Perhaps I should comm Arcee to return to—” 

“Why? You don’t think we can handle it?” Bulkhead demanded, clenching his servo. “Miko’s right; we already beat one of his kind, and we can take on another!”

Miko pumped a celebratory fist into the air.

“It is not a question of your prowess, Bulkhead, but _his,”_ Ratchet snapped. “We barely know anything about the new Decepticon recruit as it is. The only thing charging recklessly into this situation is going to get you are new holes in your armour!”

Bumblebee let out a series of low, soothing whirrs. **“It’s going to be alright, Ratchet. That last one couldn’t even stand up to one of us, and that was with Miko as a hostage.”**

Raf did his best to maintain his neutral expression, but it was a challenge. Thank goodness Miko couldn’t understand Bumblebee.

**“They had the element of surprise on their side that time. This time, we’ll be the ones getting the jump on them,”** Bee said matter-of-factly.

Miko popped her head into Ratchet’s line of sight, grin stretching from ear to ear. “It’s two against one, Ratchet! You can’t say no now.”

Ratchet sputtered, unable to form a full sentence. Clearly, he disapproved of their reasoning, but couldn’t think of any way to shoot it down. Or he was just too furious to actually say anything. 

Ever the mediator, Optimus stepped in at that moment. “Both of you have raised good points,” he said calmly. “Which is why Bulkhead and Bumblebee will be scouting out the energon mine. Assess the situation and report back to Ratchet.”

Both of them gave a “You got it, Optimus.” and **“Yep!”** respectively. Ratchet shot a sharp look at Optimus. “I still think Arcee should be placed on backup, in case anything goes wrong,” he insisted, one servo already an inch away from contacting Arcee’s frequency. 

“If the situation does grow dire, then I will be going in to help myself.” When that solemn declaration was not met with any complaints, Optimus directed his next order to the medic. “Ratchet, open up a groundbridge.”

Ratchet did so, albeit with some grumbling, and the familiar green vortex whirred into existence. Miko leaned forward so much that it was only thanks to Jack she wasn’t toppling over it. “Go get ‘em, Bulkhead! Make sure to bring back some souvenirs!”

“Miko, this is a _war zone_ , not a tourist—”

“Sure thing, Miks,” Bulkhead said over Ratchet’s protests. “I’ll make sure the ‘cons will spend _weeks_ picking up their spare parts.”

Miko gave a thumbs-up that seemed extremely invigorated, even for her usual level of spirit, and it was only when the two bots disappeared from view did she get off the railing. Raf and Jak shared a look. “Um, Miko? You okay?” Raf asked, eyebrows furrowed together with worry as the girl flopped back onto the couch. 

“I’ll be okay when Bulk smashes that ‘con’s face in!” she said, smashing a fist against her open palm.

Jack stared at her for a few seconds with incomprehension, before realisation lit his eyes. "Wait, is this about that 'con that nabbed you before?"

"Uh, _duh_ ," Miko said, rolling her eyes at him. Propping her legs up on the coffee table ("M-Miko, you're going to dirty it."), she pushed herself back so that her head was hanging off the back of the couch, giving her an upside down view of Jack. "I need to get back at him!"

"But..." Jack gestured into the air, as if he could grasp Miko's logic faster that way. "Miko, you know this _isn't_ the same guy, right?"

"Duh! What, do you think I'm dumb?" Miko scoffed.

Jack looked like he wanted to say something, but held back.

Miko didn't notice as she jumped off the couch. "But the 'cons are taking the 'bots for idiots if they think the same trick's gonna work twice! We can't let them get away with that. Bulkhead's gotta show them what for!" she claimed, enthusiastically punching the air several times.

Jack rolled his eyes at the display, but strangely enough, Raf understood what the girl meant. It was kind of the same thing with the itty-bitty scraplet he found many weeks ago: both of them thought they had found a new friend and decided to trust them, only for that trust to have been misplaced at the end. But Miko must be taking it worse. It was Bulkhead's friend too, after all; someone she really wanted to get to know. To have the one she'd been warming up to that whole time exposed to be the fake, then have the real one leave so soon afterwards must have been hard to swallow, even if Miko managed to put on a smile that day.

_'Will she feel better this way?'_ Raf wondered inwardly. He didn't really like the idea, but... Well, Bulkhead was already going to beat the new guy up anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to let Miko pretend, right?

"Plus, since _some_ people don't want me to join the battle, Bulkhead has to be the one to carry out my will," Miko continued.

"'Carry out your will'? Miko, you're not dead," Jack snorted.

Miko gave a loud huff in response, sliding back into a sitting position as she threw an arm over her eyes. "I might as well be. I'm _booored_ ," she whined.

As the children continued to chatter among themselves, Optimus caught a frustrated noise from Ratchet. "Isn't it a school day for the humans, Optimus? Why are they here?"

A short pause ensued as Optimus consulted the planet's international network. "... It appears to be a holiday today, to honor human soldiers who have fallen in war," he said thoughtfully. 

"It's called Memorial Day," Raf helpfully supplied. 

Ratchet spared a single glance at the common area, where Jack and Miko were already engaging in a new round of "Prime Drive 3" with Raf cheering them on. He scoffed, shaking his helm as he turned back to the screen. "A holiday well spent, it looks like."

"There is no harm in letting them enjoy their youth," Optimus said, casting a fond look at the rambunctious ongoings. He then returned his gaze to the two signals that were steadily approaching the energon mine. "We will worry about the war in their stead."

=0=

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And that’s a wrap! Please leave a review, it really warms me to see even an “I love it!” or something of the like. Not to mention it gives me a huge boost in motivation and lets me know which specific parts you loved :)
> 
> I don’t have much else to say, so see you guys later at possibly June 29!


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